Prison Break Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Prison Break Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 3, 2017

Note: Several unavoidable plot points are discussed in the following review, which some may feel constitute spoilers. Those concerned about having secrets revealed are encouraged to skip down to the technical portions of the review, below.

In one of those strange coincidences and/or synchronicities that sometimes accrue as I wend my way through my review queue, I more or less concurrently watched We Go On, a film about a guy seeking proof of life after death, and this new reboot of Prison Break, which, in a perhaps distressing new branding tradition, assumed that same “Event Series” sobriquet as another Fox entry, The X-Files, did when it returned after a long hiatus. The main character of We Go On might have been intrigued by one major plot point of this television return from the grave, which in fact is a return from the grave for Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who supposedly met his demise when the original Prison Break series left the air several years ago. To purloin a phrase from something “completely different”, Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Michael turns out to be “not dead yet”, which of course throws the worlds of his brother Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and wife Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies), who has since remarried, into total disarray. Perhaps because of its Middle Eastern setting (much of the action unfolds in Yemen), and with a prevalence of terrorism subplots involving Muslims, this “event series” iteration of Prison Break often plays weirdly like a not so distant cousin to Homeland, though this series’ paranoiac ambience doesn’t necessarily spring from a “is he or isn’t he?” approach (most fans are going to know that Michael is in essence a good guy, despite an initial formulation that he may have gone over to “the dark side”). Perhaps even more weirdly, a subplot involving erstwhile nemesis “T-Bag” Bagwell (Robert Knepper) has him dealing with a potential solution to his “hand problem” which seems like it’s been lifted out of an old episode of The Six Million Dollar Man, though some may argue whether or not T-Bag ends up “better than he was”.

The fact that Michael himself narrates the opening of Prison Break, talking about “little” things like death and rebirth, kind of lets the veritable cat out of the bag with regard to the character’s current state. Interestingly, though, at least for those who were drawn to Prison Break for its depiction of the sibling relationship between Michael and Lincoln, it’s actually T-Bag who holds the first clue about Michael’s existence. That comes courtesy of a mysterious image mailed to T-Bag, which he receives upon his release from Fox River State Penitentiary. T- Bag realizes what the grainy image seems to portend, and wastes no time in hightailing it to Lincoln’s house, where Michael’s brother is of course gobsmacked to think his brother may still be among the living. That then leads Lincoln to hightail it to Sara’s house, where he reunites with her, as well as her son with Michael, not to mention her new husband Jacob (Mark Feuerstein). (One of the series’ less artfully handled plot points is the unfolding of Jacob’s involvement with Sara, which doesn’t necessarily hew to typical “happily ever after” standards.)

Now my hunch is even some diehard fans of the original Prison Break would admit (perhaps under duress) that the show’s initial iteration hinged on a perhaps unlikely assortment of contrivances, nice plot coincidences that only increased when characters like Sara were introduced. That same tendency toward convenience informs at least part of this “event series”, though this particular formulation is so rife with Homeland-esque subterfuges and allusions to modern day terrorism that it’s perhaps less problematic than might initially be assumed. That said, the series’ emphasis on this “ripped from the headlines” content is a sometimes odd fit for the caper aspects involving yet another escape, or even the patently weird sidebar featuring T-Bag. (The terrorism aspects actually seem at least a little reminiscent of some plot elements of the original series' third and fourth seasons, two years where the whole initial "prison break" aspect had become increasingly tangential to the main storyline.)

The single biggest artifice of this season involves the completely predictable connection between Michael, Sara and Jacob. There’s a whole conspiracy aspect to this subplot that is in fact part Homeland and part X-Files (at least with regard to shadowy agencies and their nefarious plans, if not to any supernatural phenomena). While overly contrived, this subplot does allow for some genuine angst, even from early on before some of the too obvious “reveals” are trotted out, with some of the dangers facing Sara being especially visceral.

Prison Break perhaps tries a bit too hard in its final moments to close a few too many loops, calling back to the original season while also setting things up for a supposed karmic payback for one character. In this case, there probably won’t be too many people clamoring for another prison break, at least out of Fox River State Penitentiary. With a broadcast history which saw some precipitous declines in viewership as the season progressed, it might also mean there won’t be too many people clamoring for another Prison Break in a more general sense.

Prison Break Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Prison Break: Event Series is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While often graded in either blue or yellow tones which frequently ping pong back and forth like a veritable checkerboard, detail levels are uniformly high throughout this presentation, with the understandable exception of some isolated moments that are either intentionally blurred via jiggly cam or meant to be "source video" at lower resolutions (see screenshot 10). Some of the CGI elements aren't especially convincing, but location photography is often quite evocative and several outdoor scenes boast significant depth of field. While some of the grading choices tend to make things look almost monochromatic at times (especially the many golden hued Yemen sequences, which almost resemble sepia tones), the prevalence of close-ups helps elevate detail levels. In natural lighting and without overt grading, the palette pops very well and is at least relatively organic looking.

Prison Break Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Prison Break: Event Series features a well rendered DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. While dialogue tends to be anchored front and center, the many outdoor sequences provide ample opportunity for well placed ambient environmental effects. Some of the teeming environments, both "in stir" and out of it, bristle with realistic and sometimes chaotic sonic activity. The expected action sequences also offer well placed sound effects, as well as good beds of surround placement of the underscore. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and is typically very well prioritized, even in some relatively noisy sequences.

Prison Break Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• A Return Home: The Making of Prison Break Event Series (1080p; 13:02) is pretty generic fare, with okay interviews interspersed with scenes from the series and behind the scenes footage.

Note: This sole supplement is housedo on the third disc of this three disc set.

Prison Break Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fox has had a kind of unusual relationship with Prison Break, seemingly from the get go in terms of its broadcast iteration, but also with regard to the series' Blu-ray releases (I'll be going back and picking up reviews of relatively recently released "missing" seasons). Those with a history with this series will at least appreciate seeing old characters, though the "resurrection" of Michael may strain credulity to the breaking point. I'm not quite sure how well the Homeland-esque elements of this so-called "event series" blend with some of the series' supposedly established formulations, but there are some definite moments of suspense and excitement here, even when general plotlines seem incredibly contrived. Technical merits are strong, and with caveats noted and with the series' longtime fans at least in mind, Prison Break: Event Series comes Recommended.